Last time I checked, there were still 24 hours in a day, but they sure are flying by. Seems like I just did the last Under the Needle post. In January, I started this scrappy Christmas quilt and got all the blocks made. I pieced the top this month and made the binding so it's ready to hand off to Jackie
Our boy brought the quilt I made him when he went to college (2008), home over Christmas, and asked if I could repair a small hole in it. Of course! I love that he loves it. It is definitely showing it's age. A college kid, turned Marine, turned husband, turned Daddy...this quilt has earned its wrinkles. The binding is looking tattered as well so I made new binding, attached it to the back and am currently hand stitching it in the evenings.
I hear, all the time, that hand sewn binding is not as sturdy as machine stitched binding, but I'm hear to debunk that myth because this quilt has been used hard, loved hard and has traveled the world and not a single stitch has loosened.
This quilt was also made with fabric from Walmart. I hear the gasps. It was almost the first quilt I made and I didn't know about quilt shops, but I had access to Walmart and they had a lot of fabric back then.
Now, through the years, I have handsomely supported local and online quilt shops, and Walmart is my least favorite place to frequent in general, but this quilt is made with love and brought to you by Walmart and a newbie quilter and it has stood the test of time.
I also pieced the Peppermint Bark Christmas quilt. All the blocks parts were made last year so I only needed to set those together and make the binding.
And speaking of binding...I made a lot
I started a new project...a Winnie the Pooh baby quilt that included fussy cutting the focus fabric
I dropped off 3 quilts and picked up 3 more. Then 2 weeks later, Jackie called and said they were ready so another 3 were exchanged.
I am running out of quilts to give her. I had better stitch faster. LOL. The first three got binding attached to the fronts and I finished 2 this month. The Sweetwater Follow Your Heart quilt was finished
And this little Charming Baby Quilt also had the last stitch applied to it.
Both of those have been on the list for too many years so it feels good to have them finished. It doesn't feel like I sew much, but posting what I DO get done each month makes me realize I actually am getting time to stitch.
4 comments:
I too started quilting with Walmart fabric. I made a baby quilt and it was washed repeatedly and it survived. I still occasionally buy fabric there. Don’t you love it when someone uses the quilt you made for them instead of saving it for good! Now that you have a bigger house, have you ever thought about getting a long arm? My husband retired a few years ago and bought one. He loves it and it has more than paid for itself.
I was busy this morning so I'm late commenting. It looks to be like you had a productive month of February, so many love quilts. It takes time to bind but you are accomplishing it. Congratulations on your son's quilt hanging together so long. He loves it and that is the best compliment. Happy stitching!
I bought a lot of fabric at Wal-Mart. It filled the niche for kids clothes, gifts, and tablecloths. Oh, and especially costumes. It was before I started having time to get into quilting. I'm sure some of those scraps have found their way into my quilts. I love it when a quilt wears out, that means it got used.
Fascinating about the hand sewn binding - stitching down the binding is probably my least favorite part of making a quilt but my experiments with machining down binding have been unsatisfactory - stiff and wonky (operator error.....). I'd love to see the whole quilt you are repairing for your son, if that's not too intrusive. It has great history!
Ceci
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